Mud knife and shield for harvester-wheels.



No 849,285. PATENTED APR. 2, 1907.

W. D. TAYLOR.

MUD KNIFE AND SHIELD FOR HARVESTER WHEELS.

APPLIOATION FILED SEPT. 19, 1906.

lNVENTOl? WILLIAMD TAYLOR AFTOHNEYS UNITED STATES PATENT l FFQE.

WILLIAM D. TAYLOR, OF HARTFORD, KANSAS.

Specification. of Letters Patent.

Patented April 2, 1907.

Application filed September 19,1906. Serial No. 335,219.

To a/ZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that 1, WILLIAM D. TAYLOR, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Hartford, in the county of Lyon and State of Kansas, have made certain new and useful Improvements in Mud Knives and Shields for Harvester-VVheels, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in mud knives and shields for harvestepwheels in which a knife and shield is so placed on the frame of a harvester as to prevent mud, straw, and trash from accumulating on the tread of a harvester-wheel and interfering with the operating mechanism of the harvester, the object being to provide a device of the character mentioned which shall be simple, cheap, and efficient, easily applied, and readily placed into or out of operative position.

T 0 these ends my invention consists of a knife-blade disposed adjacent to the edge of the wheel-tread and parallel to the vertical plane of the Wheel and a shield projecting laterally from said knife to prevent any mud, straw, or trashbeing carried upwardly by said wheel and also prevent mud, straw, or trash being carried above the knife and deposited on the driving mechanism of the harvester.

My invention consists, further, in certain novel features of construction, arrangement, and combination of parts, as will be hereinafter fully described, and pointed out in the drawings, in which Figure 1 is a perspective view'of a portion of a harvester-frame, showing my improvements applied. Fig. 2 is a rear elevation of same. Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the knife-blade detached. Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the shield detached. Figs. 5 and 6 are detail views of the brace-rods that permit of adjustment of knife and shield.

In the drawings I have shown a portion of a McCormick harvester-frame, A A being the bull-wheel, and B the bull-wheel chain or driving-chain which drives the entire machine.

At C is shown the chain-tightener wheel, and D is the gear-wheel upon which the bullwheel chain runs.

hen the ground is damp or wet, the mud and straw and trash would usually collect on the bull-wheel until there would .be such a quantity that it would mash over the sides of the wheel until the bull-wheel chain gathers enough to clog the chain-tightener wheel C and gear-wheel D until the machine would be forced to stop. To overcome these objections, I have devised the mud-knife E and its accessories, as will now be fully described. The knife E has a shank E, which, as shown, is bolted to the frame A of the harvester, and is further provided with the holes 6 e, as shown. The blade of the knife is arranged to lie against or very close to the edge of the tread of the wheel in a vertical plane parallel to the plane of rotation of the wheel. To the top of the blade is secured the shield-plate F, which is substantially semicircular in shape and extends beyond the rim of the wheel. Secured in the hole e of the knife is one end of a brace-rod G, which extends across the face of the tread of the wheel and has its opposite end 9 bent upwardly and secured to the harvesterframe. In the hole 6 of the knife is secured one end of another brace-rod H, which extends outwardly and is bent upwardly at h and fastened to the harvesterframe by suitable means. The brace-rod H is secured to the frame on the opposite side of the wheel to which the brace-rod G is secured. The blade E may be adjusted on brace-rods G and H so that the knife can be slipped to one side when not needed.

From the above it will be perceived that the knife E cuts the mud and straw and trash from the edge of the wheel when rotating and keeps the side of the bull-wheel clear and that the shield F keeps the mud and trash from getting into the chain B and interfering with the proper operation of the driving mechanism.

By the use of my device, which may be applied to any wheat-harvester or corn-harvester, the knife can be adjusted closely against the edge -of the wheel by means of the nuts on the brace-rods G and H, respectively. In dry weather, when it is not necessary to use my improvements, the knife can be adjusted away from the edge of the wheel by the same means.

WVith my improvements applied to a harvester it can be used from one to two days sooner after a rain than without said improvements.

I claim 1. A mud knife and shield for harvesters, consisting of a substantially vertical blade disposed adjacent to the edge of the bullwheel tread, a horizontal shield-plate projecting laterally from said blade, and means for securing said blade to the harvester frame.

2. A mud knife and shield for harvesters, consisting of a substantially vertical blade disposed adjacent to the edge of the bull- Wheel tread, a horizontal shield-plate projecting laterally from said blade, and bracerods adjustably secured at one end to said blade and at their opposite ends to the harvester-frame.

3. A mud knife and shield for harvesters consisting of a blade having a shank, said shank attached to the frame of the harvester and the blade disposed adjacent to the edge of the bull-Wheel tread, a horizontallydisposed shield-plate projecting laterally from I the upper edge of the blade, brace-rods adustably secured at one end on opposite sides of the blade and secured at their opposite ends to the frame of the harvester.

4. A mud-knife for harvesters, consisting of a blade disposed adjacent to the edge of the tread of the bull-Wheel of a harvester, a shield projecting laterally from said blade, and means for securing said blade to the harvester-frame, said means also serving to permit adjustment of the blade to and from the edge of the tread of the bull-Wheel.

WVILLIAM D. TAYLOR. Witnesses:

C. CooLEY, E. FULLEN. 

